Never Simple
by The Big Black Panther
Summary: Crap happens- murder happens. And even between being a suspect, chasing a killer, and fighting to survive, life happens- love happens. Rose/Scor, Al/OC. Rated for intense snogging and occasional foul language.
1. Like Breathing

Chapter One: Like Breathing (Rose)

Scorpius Malfoy, the tall blonde she found increasingly obnoxious with each step, was following her, refusing to let the argument go. She had insulted him and his father and rudely suggested he go perform something that was physically impossible, but still. He was the one following her, and it was pissing her off. More.

Rose spun around, scowling ferociously. "Leave me alone, Malfoy!"

She'd been trying to speed walk and lose him in the twists and turns, but he was more than a foot taller than her and with the legs to match- so all she'd succeeded in doing was pulling them into a corridor ending in only a broom closet. So she had to double back, and that put her at his mercy.

Scorpius's scowl matched hers, and coldly he asked her (in words that shouldn't be repeated) why he should do that.

Not answering because she'd brought this on herself after all, she tried to push past him. He grabbed her and pushed her back against the door to the broom closet, pinning her wrists to the wall. "Insult me all you want, Weasley," he hissed, "but leave my father the fuck out of things. He's done a lot to turn his life around and he doesn't need a bitch like you trying to ruin his life."

She should have been scared, with him so obviously in control physically and having a look like that on his face, but she wasn't. She met his eyes and felt a coil of remorse twist around her stomach, almost making her blurt an apology. They were grey, as she'd heard his father's were, but a flash of insight had shown her the anger was hiding the pain.

She'd always prided herself on being able to tell Al- this bloke's best friend- that she hated the blonde for his personality and not his family. And with the frenemies type relationship they'd hated having, she supposed he must have reveled in it as a novelty. Except now he thought she was just another hypocrite.

Rose bit her lip, wanting to tell him she hadn't meant it- her levelheaded mother always rolled her eyes at Ron when he started roaring about evil Malfoys and muttered for them not to listen to him- but pride kept her from doing so.

He must have seen it in her face though- something in his softened, and he glanced at her lips for the briefest moment. That slightest movement had her heart pounding in her chest. She didn't know why, but the thought of him kissing her seemed suddenly very appealing.

Scorpius seemed to be leaning ever so slowly towards her, and she did her best to lean forward to meet him, despite his hands still pinning her wrists rather painfully to the wall. He pulled back though, clearing his throat slightly, and she felt a stab of annoyance.

"Bastard," she muttered, scowling, and looked pointedly away from the grey eyes that had held her captive.

"Rose," he demanded, and she snapped her head back around, startled at his use of her first name. She met his eyes again, and felt her need to hate him drain away. There had never really been a reason for it anyway; she just had.

And then he really did kiss her. And time stopped.

She was aware of nothing other than his lips and the release of her wrists until they had to break apart for breath. Both of their shirts had been unbuttoned, and he was holding her (legs wrapped around his waist) so that he didn't have to lean down so far to kiss her.

And for the life of her, she couldn't even muster a snarky retort to the way his eyes were studying the freckles along her collarbone.

She'd been kissed before, had even had sex before, but she'd never felt like this. Her heart had never been pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it, a boy's hands had never left her skin cold where he wasn't touching her, she'd never had the wild impulse to let him take her here against a broom closet door.

Her one time had been the biggest mistake of her life, a painful and awkward few minutes after which she realized she wasn't even close to in love with the boy she'd practically pledged her life to an hour before. But for some crazy reason she didn't think this was going to be a mistake.

And she made up her mind, in seconds. Rose dropped her feet to the floor and pushed him back half a step before kissing him, leaving only their lips touching. He braced his hands on the wall because he was leaning at such an awkward angle, and within the cage he made for her she stripped down to only the matching red lace bra and panties she was suddenly very glad had been her only clean ones.

She stretched up on her tiptoes, running her hands over his chest. Quidditch was an amazing thing, she noted, upon realizing how incredibly fit he was.

He set his hands on her hips, the most modest position he could have chosen under the circumstances, and she almost growled with annoyance. She guided his hands down to her arse and slipped her arms around his neck, content that he would recognize she was ready for him to start taking the initiative. In the meantime, she simply kissed him and let him kiss her.

He was an amazing kisser.

Scorpius released her arse with one hand, sliding it up to find the clasp of her bra. With a skill that made her realize his reputation around school wasn't merely a product of the rumor mill, he flicked it open. She lifted her arms, allowing him to remove it before she pulled him close.

Rose wrapped her legs around his waist again, held tight between him and the door behind her. Her now bare breasts were pressed into his chest, and she could sense that he felt the same thrill of excitement as she did.

Finally they broke apart for air again and she let herself slip off of him again, allowing him to look her over in the flickering torchlight. And he was studying every inch of her, making her blush. The only clothing she had left was her panties, and they covered little.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, softly, sincerely, and met her large, clear blue eyes once more, brushing a lock of her wild red curls away from her face.

He placed chaste kisses along her jaw and down her neck, over her collarbone and lower and lower, worshiping her pale skin and light freckles with a gentle reverence.

Rose set her hands on his shoulders, closing her eyes. Softly she bared her heart to him, murmuring every secret she had to his intently listening ears, because in the moment he'd met her eyes she'd realized how insane she was for not having let him in sooner. He was strong and kind and passionate and impatient and temper-prone and wonderful, and in a second being with him had become as easy and as necessary as breathing.

She told him stories of her and Al's antics, stories of her childhood and stories of her family, moments she was proud of and moments she wished she could forget. She told him of himself, and how much she'd hated him and how much he'd hurt her sometimes, and the moments when she'd hurt herself because she could see in his face she'd hurt him when she hadn't really meant to. She told him everything, all of it soft and sincere and punctuated by gasps and pauses as he kissed her and let her know how beautiful she was.

Scorpius didn't know why she was telling him these things, but without him noticing she transformed from the arrogant Weasley best friend of Al's into Rose Weasley, well intentioned and passionate, caring yet intolerant, strong enough to pick herself up but fragile enough to break in the first place. And he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was in love with her, and only the thought of rejection kept him from proposing right there without ever having taken her on a date.

"Oh, Scor," she finally murmured, sighing, ending her soliloquy as suddenly as she'd begun.

He slid her bra back over her chest and then her shirt over that, knowing he couldn't possibly take advantage of her after she'd bared herself to him like that. But he gathered her into his arms and settled down on the ground, holding her in his lap. She rested her head against his chest, tracing patterns over his bare skin with one finger as he murmured his own story to her, needing her to know him the way she'd just let him know her.

The end of his tale came early as she fell asleep in his arms, but he didn't mind. He drowsed too, for a time, but they woke up long before the sun came up and dressed, returning to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw respectfully.

Rose moved her food around on her plate, barely listening to her best friend Cammie as she talked. She was too preoccupied with the events of the night before, wondering at how easy it had been to fall in love with him when it had been so easy to hate him before.

She was too caught up in daydreams of his lips on hers to notice when he finished his breakfast and walked up behind her. And she didn't until he set his hands on either side of her elbows and leaned in close, his lips by her ear.

She spluttered, choking on her first bite of food (that she'd just so happened to take just before he came over), and covered her mouth with a napkin, eyes watering.

Cammie watched the scene with wide eyes, amazed Rose didn't turn around and hex him.

"'Lo, Rosie," Scorpius whispered, and she could hear the smirk in his voice.

She blushed furiously, unable to speak around the lump in her throat, and simply nodded her knowledge of his presence.

"Hogsmeade tomorrow if you'd like to come with me," he murmured, voice sexy in her ear like that, and as she swallowed she found herself unable to speak for an entirely different reason.

She just nodded again.

"It's a date then," he smiled, that half grin that made girls' hearts melt and had made her want to puke until just that moment, and suddenly it was incredibly sexy and the heat rushed to her cheeks yet again. And he'd said it just loud enough to make Cammie's eyes get wide.

"Bye," she managed a word, finally, as he straightened up and walked away. The absence of his presence left her feeling cold and faint, and with a groan she shoved away her plate and dropped her head onto her arms. Not only had she not been self-assured in any way, she had been unable to even think of a single snarky comment, let alone say one.

"Scorpius Malfoy just came within millimeters of kissing your neck," Cammie finally said, dumbfounded.

Rose nodded, not looking up.

"And you didn't hex him."

"No, I did not," she muttered, voice somewhat muffled by her arms.

"And he asked you out."

Rose finally looked up, blushing but smiling ever so slightly. "He did indeed."

Cammie stared at her, and then finally found her voice. "And you... you said yes."

"Yeah." Rose bit her lip, trying to remember that she wasn't one of those girls who got all gushy over a guy asking them out.

"Rosie, did someone lock you in a trunk and replace you via polyjuice potion?"

"Cam, I had a very strange night last night," Rose informed her, getting a dreamy look in her eye.

That afternoon, Scorpius watched the Gryffindor Quidditch practice; he did this often, as captain of the Ravenclaw team, and Al (as Gryffindor captain) never seemed to care. Especially since he did the same thing to Scorpius. Normally it was to size up the competition, but today Rose knew it was to watch her.

Every time she glanced over at him, those grey eyes were locked on her, and she couldn't concentrate. She was the best chaser on the team behind her little brother Hugo, but she missed eleven shots in a row that day, much to Al's annoyance. And she couldn't seem to care; all she could think about was the blonde in the stands who couldn't take his eyes off of her.

It didn't get better, after the rain started. She couldn't see Scorpius, but it was as distracting to wonder if he was still there as it was to know he was staring at her. Finally, in an explosion of atypical captain-like anger, Al made her run sprints.

Rose could sense the rest of the team zipping along over her as she raced back and forth, muttering names at her cousin with every spare breath she had. Eventually, the string of cussing abated and she found herself daydreaming of Scorpius for the ninth time that day.

When Al finally let the team go, Rose was soaked to the bone, coated in mud, and in need of a cold shower to wash away the thought of Scorpius. She didn't emerge from the shower until long after the rest of the team had left, and so dressed in the middle of the locker room floor, seeing no need to be modest in front of no one.

She was slipping her shirt over her head when someone knocked softly at the door and called out her name. Heart pounding, she froze, knowing whose voice it was and wondering if she should finish the motion. Admitting to herself that she wanted him to see her sexy black bra, she pulled him inside before putting on her t-shirt.

"I can't stop thinking about you," he murmured, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"You distracted me during practice," she chastised, stretching on her tiptoes to kiss him deeply. "And last night you kept me from writing my essay. So I have no time for you, unless you want to spend your evening in the library."

Scorpius picked up her bag for her, slinging it and his own over his shoulder. "Sounds excellent."

They were thrown out by Madam Pince (who her father, after a brief visit in her third year, claimed in a somewhat frightened voice hadn't aged a day) before Rose had finished her essay, but she'd come close enough not to be bothered by it. Especially since she'd figured out how to exist in his company and not make a fool of herself.

Giggling and snickering as they'd left the library in a rush, hand in hand, she'd spent her night laughing so hard she didn't make a sound and talking so much she'd felt certain he'd get tired of listening. But he hadn't, and she hadn't either.

Creeping to bed in the wee hours of the morning two nights in a row had certainly left its toll, though, and in the light of day she stared in distress at the circles under her eyes and the wild mess that was her hair. She was meeting him downstairs in half an hour and she looked _terrible_.

Rose found her favorite pair of jeans under Cammie's bed and stole one of the blonde's V-neck sweaters (a blue that perfectly matched her eyes), but these did not solve the problem of her hair. The circles, she knew, were not as bad as they seemed in the harsh light (and he'd understand why they were there anyway). But she felt helpless about the afro-like tangle that adorned her head.

"Nice hair," Lily snickered as she entered the dorm to look through Rose's clothes (despite being two years younger, she generally spent her nights passed out on the floor between Cam and Rose's beds, and so many of her clothes had become mixed with Rose's over time).

"Fix it," Rose implored, giving her the best puppy-dog look she could muster with her large, innocent blue eyes. It was highly effective on everyone from her father to James to Professor Longbottom when he marked Scorpius a point higher than her on an exam- because normally she felt she was right anyway and so had no qualms about begging the grade out of him. And she couldn't let Scorpius beat her in anything, not even his favorite subject.

Lily sighed and waved her wand. The curls instantly fell into their normal state- curly and wild but livable. "Best I can do," she shrugged.

"Thank you, Lil!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around her cousin before bounding down the stairs.

"You know you love me!" Lily shouted after her.

Rose skidded to a stop just behind Scorpius, who was talking to their mutual best friend Al Potter, and paused to catch her breath, feeling giddy.

Al smirked, seeing her. "So you two crazy kids finally figured out you've been hiding your love for each other behind pure and undiluted hatred?"

The bastard. He'd been predicting this for years.

Rose scowled, and would have punched him in the face if she thought she could have reached. He was obnoxiously tall- even having a few inches on Scorpius and the majority of the Weasley clan- and lanky, with Harry's green eyes, black glasses, and disheveled hair.

Scorpius had spun around when Al had started talking, and when he saw her his face split into a wide grin. She wrinkled her nose at Al, just because he was an arse, and linked arms with Scorp.

Al winked lasciviously at her and adjusted his glasses with a smirk. Smug bastard, she thought viciously.

"You look wonderful," Scorp finally told her, having waited patiently for her attention to be on him rather than their annoying (but wonderfully loyal and snarky) best friend.

"I know I do, but it's nice to have you tell me."

Being snarky was the best way to make him laugh, and she loved it when he laughed. It was a short little chuckle, rumbling from his chest and lighting up his eyes.

She heard Al mutter something about "sickening" but couldn't find it in herself to care.

**A/N: Not JKR, and certainly not the owner of any of the Harry Potter world. I'd love for you all to read and review and put this story on your alerts! There's not really a planned plot, at this point, although I will say their happy bubble will be happily popped quite soon. They're too passionate a set of characters not to explode on a regular basis. I do, however, have my second chapter written (though unfortunately it's only about half as long as this one).**


	2. Party Animal

Chapter Two: Party Animal (Al)

He snorted, shaking his head. He might've started teasing Rosie about Scorpius in first year, but he'd long since given up on it actually happening. They'd been so... bitchy to each other, frankly, and it hadn't seemed like they'd ever be able to set the hate aside and realize they weren't so different. Besides, they'd all been the same height when they were first years, and now Scorpius was over six foot and Rosie barely hit 5'5". It was cute, but a little unnatural.

"I'm never dating a girl who can't even slap me in the face if I'm acting like an arse," Albus muttered to himself, turning away from the scene. "It only leaves them one option, and it's not really one I'd like to experience... again..."

He shuddered at the memory of sweet little Tracy Nugent slamming her knee into him when he'd merely implied her sister was a whore. (He'd felt it a sort of victory when Roxie Nugent had dropped out a month later after getting pregnant- she'd been unable to tell them for certain who the father was.)

There was someone snickering next to him, and he scowled down at the midget second year Rebecca, Scorpius's only true friend from his house. The kid was tiny, barely five foot and sixty pounds by the look of her. Surprisingly enough, however, she played Beater for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. A fact Al had guffawed over until she'd broken his nose with a well aimed bludger. Despite her size, she was strong enough she could probably carry him around- if she could get his feet to leave the ground- and her aim was impeccable.

"What?" he asked shortly.

"I heard your comment," she grinned. "And I have to say, I thought it was quite hilarious when Tracy kneed you."

"You would," Al said drily. "After all, you're a vicious little blighter, aren't you?"

"Yes," she piped, and skipped off. Only twelve-year-olds could get away with skipping. If he did it he'd look like an idiot.

Al rubbed the bridge of his nose. What a thought.

"You look pained."

He jumped, cursing to himself. What the hell was this, random women sneak up on Al while he's thinking day? "I am pained," he finally answered, realizing Cammie was waiting for him to answer her.

She wasn't ridiculously short; at five-nine she was even rather tall for the female population of Hogwarts. And she wore heels almost constantly. She was blonde, too; despite the supposed redhead-loving gene that all Potters possessed, he much preferred blondes.

He tuned back in, realizing she was talking to him, just in time to hear her ask if he wanted to hang out for the day, both of them being deprived of their best friend.

"Sounds fun." Al adjusted his glasses and followed her out, remarkably managing not to trip over his long limbs and crash into her.

Perhaps some god in the universe took pity on him after all.

He didn't mean to be melodramatic- it just really sucked to be the middle child, especially when you were preceded by brilliant boy James and followed by the deceptively sweet and childish Lily. And while he was a bright guy, being best friends with the two brightest in the year tended to leave him out-shined. And etc, etc.

Sometimes it just really sucked to be him, especially when you had to put on the goofy, snarky facade or everyone thought you were sick. Because making people laugh seemed to be his only real talent, at least the only one he had that someone else didn't have in more abundance.

Al remembered he was hanging out with Cammie and grinned lopsidedly at her. "Gryffindor hasn't thrown a rager in about a month, you know, but Hufflepuff's had two parties since then. A crying shame, when the house of party animals can't even compete with the goody-two-shoes."

"Why, Al Potter, I'd almost say that's mischief I see in your eye," she smirked.

"I honestly have no idea of what you're referring to- after all, I'm a perfect gentleman, you know. Never the one to supply the firewhiskey to such an event." he winked. "I do feel the hankering to visit my uncle's shop, if you wouldn't mind stopping in at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

Whatever he wanted to complain to himself about, no one else had any doubt that Al Potter was a force of nature when he wanted to be, and the fact was obvious as he swept through George's shop to the back room, where he emerged from with three or four bags filled with dubious looking supplies.

"Pay you later," he yelled at his uncle, who saluted him with a broad grin.

Al was sure his father would roll his eyes at what he was planning, and his mother would grumble about how her angel second son had ever turned into this, but that kind of just made it more fun.

Yes, he was planning a party, not a prank- but hey, how better to announce a random wild rave than all the suits of armor in the castle spontaneously bursting into P!nk's Get the Party Started?

He was wearing a top hat, a monocle, and a bow tie. Scorpius had laughed his arse off when he saw him, but had been unable to deny the effect it had had upon Al's opening speech when he'd spun off his hat and bowed his way back into the Room of Requirement.

After the war, most people had given the place up for dead after the magical fire had been set, so the secret had been one only recently rediscovered. Because, of course, the magics of Hogwarts were deep and unpredictable, powerful and archaic- and all that had been needed was to wash off the coat of soot.

And so maybe it wasn't used for as noble a purpose as secret rebellion against an evil regime any more. It was used for parties.

And fuck, could Al Potter throw a party.

There was dancing, and wild lighting, and a disco ball, and booze, and places to do every crazy thing that could possibly come into your mind. Bungee jumping, for one.

Al himself spent the first half of his night playing poker on a table suspended in midair over the dance floor, where he happily took every cent from Scorpius, Hugo, Lily, Nora Finnegan, Mark Boot, and Lorcan Scamander to put back towards all the money he owed George.

It was devilishly fun. Al pocketed his galleons with a smirk and bowed out of the game before anyone realized he was cheating like crazy. He spotted his favorite cousin and made his way over.

"Hey, Rosie," he greeted, beaming, but quickly dropped the smile when he saw her scowl. "You look pissed. Why are you pissed?"

"Well, I'm drinking butterbeer alone in a corner, if that's any clue."

"Ah." Al nodded. "You've been riding the dreamy honeymoon wave and suddenly Scorpius is off playing poker without you and you're sulking." He took a swig of her butterbeer, handed it back, and shrugged. "Suck it up. He's not just your boy toy, and he's not always going to spend every single second of every single damn day with you. Besides," he winked, "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

She kicked him in the shin and stalked away.

"That's my girl! Anger suits you much better than self-pity!" he called after her.

The party was officially in full swing, and Al saw little point in trying to run around and make sure everything ran smoothly. Despite being the instigator, he was hardly the host. Instead, he intended to find himself a nice bottle of firewhiskey and pretty (tall) girl with whom to dance the night away.

"Alice Longbottom, care to hit the floor with a boy who is, currently, sober?" he asked, winking one green eye at his former childhood acquaintance. Despite his reputation for snogging random women at parties, he fully intended to be able to look her father in the eyes the next morning and not feel ashamed. All he wanted was to get hammered and dance until he passed out on the floor.

It was actually kind of fun to do so.

"Sure, mate," she laughed, allowing him to spin her away.

Besides, he was pretty sure she was gay.

**A/N: Al's my favorite character, just so you guys know. You don't really need to, but I just wanted to say. He was much more serious than normal in this chapter, especially at the beginning. Don't worry- he's almost never like that. He's just bitter they're so happy. Also, I don't own P!nk or, as stated last author's note, the world of Harry. Read and Review, guys!**


	3. Playing for the Other Team

Chapter Three: Playing for the Other Team (Scorpius)

**A/N: Guys, I really changed where I wanted to go from when I started this story. To the point where I'm considering breaking off the first chapter to make a one-shot, and making Al the main character for this story. But anyway, if you're reading this story just because you want a little love story between Rose and Scorpius, don't read past the next chapter. In chapter five, things get interesting.**

He left the poker game not long after Al, feeling a little irked because he didn't know Al had been cheating and therefore couldn't believe he'd gotten beaten so badly. He shouldn't have let Lily drag him into it anyway; all he really wanted to do was spend the night with Rose. But Lily Luna Potter, Gryffindor's sweetheart, was an evil, diabolical, persuasive example of the female gender.

Scorpius studied the crowd, searching for Rose's unmistakable red mane and cursing how short she was. It was impossible to see her- he'd have to brave the crowd in order to find her.

And it was utter mayhem on the inside- despite his significant size and height he still found himself buffeted and battered and thrown off his path by the hordes of wild students. Gryffindor threw the best parties, everyone knew that, and so it seemed three-quarters of the school had shown up that night.

Even a few Slytherins were in attendance (despite Al's best efforts otherwise).

Finally catching a glimpse of red curls, Scorpius shoved a few tipsy fourth years out of his way and broke free of the crowd. He jogged to catch up with Rose, who was wandering about the edge of things a dozen yards ahead. He flashed her a bright grin when he did, throwing an arm about her shoulders.

"Evening, Rosie."

With a huff of annoyance she ducked out from under his arm and turned to walk the other way. He caught her, frowning, and spun her to face him. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," she drawled, scowling. "Just spending my evening alone while my boyfriend loses all his money to my cousin."

Scorpius mirrored her scowl, brows knit together in annoyance. "I'm sorry, are you mad because I'm a bad poker player?"

Rose snorted. "What the hell, mate? Why would I be mad about that?"

"Well, I dunno, I just-"

"Just hung out with our best friend, leaving me to fend for myself without even saying "hi" or "I'll meet up with you later"?"

"Don't be like that, Rose, I wanted to spend my time with you, but Lily-" he trailed off, watching her pull up to her full height, mouth twisting in anger. He quailed before the famed Weasley rage.

"Lily?" she hissed. "You ignored me to spend time with my insane slut cousin?"

"It wasn't like-"

"Bugger off," she spat, yanking away from him and storming off.

"Fuck," he muttered, rubbing his temples. Rose was insane, that's all there was to it. Yes, Lily was attractive, goofy, and slightly slutty, with the capabilities to be courageous and sweet, but she was also immature and obnoxious and his best friend's little sister. Whom he regarded as a brother. So Lily was basically his little sister. Which was gross. And he was in love with Rose.

He really needed some firewhiskey.

By the time the party started to fade off at one-thirty, he was perfectly, pleasantly drunk. He followed the stream out the door, hoping he would be able to walk in a straight enough line to make his way to the dorm. Not that he really wanted to go there.

Mark Boot would be there. He really hated Mark Boot. Mark Boot really hated him, too.

Mark Boot broke his nose on a regular basis.

Scorpius made a face, staggering down the hall. Rose was pissed at him, he'd lost all his money to Al, and he had to spend the night playing nice with the other boys from his year (who all thought he was Slytherin scum who never should have been sorted into Ravenclaw). After his last two incredible nights with Rose, those circumstances made him feel devastated.

RSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRS

It got marginally better in the morning, when he sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Al, who was slumped in a heap.

"Morning," Scorpius grumbled.

Al just groaned, waving a hand as if trying to swat away a fly.

"You're as hung over as I am, aren't you?" he sighed, heaping a stack of bacon on a plate and setting it in front of the Potter. He grabbed Al by the hair, pulling his head up, and waved a piece in front of his nose.

It was amazing how quickly he came alive.

"I'm more hung over." Al dug into the bacon ravenously, adding piles of biscuits and eggs. Scorpius was always amazed how much food the boy was able to eat, skinny as he was.

"I noticed you dancing with Alice," he winked, getting some food of his own. "Something brewing there?"

Al snorted. "Please. She's a wonderful girl, absolutely adorable, great dancer- definitely playing for the other team."

Scorpius peered over at the Hufflepuff table, raising an eyebrow. "Did she tell you that?"

"No. But after we stopped dancing she ran off giggling with Lexie Brighton, who came out to the entire school at breakfast on the last day of school last year."

"Interesting." he looked at Al's plate. "It's empty. Mate, I've barely started on my breakfast and you've already eaten more than I can in an entire day."

Al grinned through the biscuit in his mouth.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder, spotting Rose entering the Great Hall. He grimaced.

Al followed his gaze, made a noise of understanding and clapped him on the back. "She'll get over it, mate. She gets really, really mad really, really fast, but it doesn't last. Believe me; I piss her off on a daily basis."

"If you say so," Scorpius sighed, turning back to his breakfast.

"Cheer up mate!" Al grinned, turning back himself. "We have Defense Against the Dark Arts first today!" he cackled maliciously.

Scorpius felt himself smile somewhat involuntarily.

In an ironic turn of events, despite the lifting of the curse from the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher the next man to take the job tragically passed away in class due to an aneurism after seven years of teaching. While this wasn't exactly the terms of the old curse, the old taboo returned.

No one seemed willing to take the job, so when a young man barely out of Hogwarts offered to do so, McGonagall leaped at the opportunity. The young man subsequently wrote a loophole into his contract that no one caught until it was too late. It made it impossible to fire him- the only way he could leave was voluntarily. Or by dying.

And the young man, Professor Denpedinger, was inept. There was no other word for it. Of course, the students did manage to learn some things from him, but the man was completely unable to run a classroom.

Enter Albus, the genetically protection proficient and prank prone student who made the man's life hell. (He claimed this was because he was performing a public service for future Hogwarts students by getting the man to quit, but Scorpius knew it was simply because he had a lot of fun doing it.)

Perhaps they had to learn most of the content outside of class via the book, but it was worth it for the hilarity brought each class.

RSRSRSRSRSRSRSRS

"-and you see, the spell is highly dangerous and takes a skilled hand to keep it under control, else it will gain a life of its own and instead control you."

"Sort of the way his significant other controls him," Al stage whispered for the whole class to hear, miming the cracking of a whip along with the sound effect (wuh-ch!). Laughter ran softly around the room.

Denpedinger raised his voice, continuing despite the red that was creeping into his face. "So while you are unlikely to encounter the spell _Claustrom Comprehendo_ unless your attacker is immensely skilled and well-trained, the counter-defense is far simpler. The spell is _Subterfugio Pretereo_ and begins with a simple jab of the wand, like so-"

"He's not normally the one jabbing the wand, you can tell," Al smirked, lounging back in his chair.

Scorpius covered his laugh by coughing into his sleeve.

"-and is followed by a spin of the wrist and the saying of the incantation. The effect you should notice is the immediate paralization of your opponent; the rest of it is the unseen dismantling of the spell he has just cast."

"Notice his use of the pronoun "he." He's got no use for the female gender."

"The appropriate thing to do would be- Mr. Potter, are you humming?" he was sure to regret acknowledging Al's presence, but it had caught him off-guard.

Al grinned. "Why, sir, I've just got this part of a song stuck in my head, I'm sure most of you know it." he cleared his throat and rose slowly from his seat.

"Mr. Potter, please do not sing in my class-"

"_I'm so pretty, oh so pretty- _yes, Lisa, I see you know it, do join in-" he grew louder with each word- "_so pretty, and witty, and GAY!"_ Al finished with a flourish, pointing with both hands at Denpedinger.

The class burst into applause and laughter, one of his fellow Gryffindors wolf-whistling.

"OUT!" the enraged professor shouted, pointing at the door.

"Whatever you say, sir," Al snickered, leaving.

Scorpius dearly wanted to follow him out, as Denpedinger seemed to have forgotten he'd taught them this the year before (and without Al the class would be pointless and boring), but he sighed and resigned himself to the torture.

Rose slipped across the room while the professor was looking the other way, taking Al's abandoned seat. "Hey," she murmured, eyes focused on the wand she was twirling between her fingers.

"'Lo, Rosie." he kept his face stoic, not daring to hope for one of her rare but heartfelt apologies.

"I... er, well, I just wanted to say..." she trailed off and he waited patiently. "I know you have no interest in Lily, and that Lily has no interest in you. It's just... well, I sort of tend to get jealous where she's concerned, because all she has to do is close her eyes, spin around, and open them to find herself looking at a guy willing to date her. In fact, the last guy I went on a date with dumped me to chase after her, so-"

"Miss Weasley, I am trying to teach! Please have your fight with Mr. Malfoy on your own time!"

"Sure, Al makes three gay jokes and he doesn't say anything to him, but the instant I try to have a meaningful discussion he flips out on me," she grumbled, scowling, as she returned to her own seat.

**A/N: Denpedinger is pronounced just the way it's spelled "Den-puh-ding-er." And do you see now why I love Al? He's quite amusing. And I don't own the song that Al sang. I believe it comes from the musical West Side Story? Which I had nothing to do with. Review, guys! Because sooner or later I'm going to get tired of writing all day and this story will go onto the back burner. Trust me. This story will never get finished if it goes on the back burner unless I keep getting review alerts to remind me of its presence!  
**

**P.S. I apologize for any confusing jumps in the first two chapters, all the ways I tried to break up the story weren't staying in. Shouldn't have the same problem from now on, but I just wanted to say "My bad!"  
**


	4. Prank Week

Chapter Four: Prank Week (Rose)

She sat back down next to Cammie, rolling her eyes. "My idiot cousin can make a dozen jokes at his expense before he stops ignoring him, but the instant I try to fix things with Scorpius he decides to actually try and impose law in his classroom."

Her blue-eyed, blonde haired friend shrugged, pulling over Rose's notes to start doodling on them. "Admittedly, you didn't start until after he'd already flipped on Al, which always puts him in a bad mood. And ignoring that boy is the only defense- you saw what happened when he actually acknowledged his presence."

Rose laughed. "It was quite funny though, wasn't it? I dunno how Al comes up with all of the stuff he says."

"He's related to the Weasleys?"

"True. True." Rose pulled back her notes, rolling her eyes at the random lions, giraffes and antelopes. "What's with the savannah drawn all over these?"

Cam shrugged, leaning back in her seat. "I'm ready for Halloween. I hear it's African themed this year."

Rose groaned. "Merlin, Halloween's just over a week away, isn't it?"

"Well. Duh." Cam raised an eyebrow. "Why do you not look pleased by this information?"

"Because I'm Head Girl this year, meaning I'm the one who has to deal with Al's week of "epic pranks.'" she grimaced. "I'm not looking forward to being the one who has to turn him in to McGonagall."

Cam grinned. "So don't turn him in."

RSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRS

"POTTER!" Tempton Frankfurt, the newest old grouch of a caretaker in a long line of old grouch caretakers (such as Argus Filch), went slipping and sliding between the house tables. Of course, as Al had known the halls were about to be coated in a shiny layer of ice he was wearing ice skates, so there was no way Frankfurt would be able to catch him.

Al laughed grandly, turning a figure eight before taking off out the doors.

Rose turned back towards the table, rolling her eyes. "He's going to take a wrong turn and killed himself on the stairs."

"He's smarter than that- on second thought, yeah, he's probably going to kill himself. I remember one time when he was just walking down the hall and managed to break his ankle tripping over his own feet." Scorpius chuckled, buttering his roll.

"At least they know it was him, so I don't have to explain to McGonagall why I didn't turn in my cousin despite having heard him planning it for the past two days."

Cammie grinned. "At least we did hear him planning and are appropriately dressed."

With what had so far been a mild autumn, no one else in the Great Hall had on thick sweaters and gloves. And especially not ice skates. The Hufflepuffs were huddled all at one end of the table and the Ravenclaw first years had all gone running (and slipping and falling) back to their common room to change.

"Let's just get to class, shall we?" Rose laughed, checking the laces on her skates before standing.

"Honestly think we'll be having class when the halls are like this?" Scorpius laughed, rising along with her.

"No, honestly hoping. We have to take our NEWTs at the end of this year, Scorpius! We can't afford to lose time in class, not even for a prank that has created an admittedly fun looking set of circumstances. I mean-"

Cammie rolled her eyes and slapped a hand over Rose's mouth. "Calm, Weasley! You could take that test now and get better grades than I will at the end of the year, so just relax!"

Rose removed her hand, scowling. "But you're not even going to try, so that brings me no comfort!"

She skated off, leaving them to catch up later. Al flitted past, still cackling with Frankfurt huffing and puffing after him.

"Have fun today, Rosie!" he called back, scooping up Scorpius's short little friend and carrying her shrieking down the hall.

Rolling her eyes, Rose headed in the opposite direction. Partially to avoid the fall out when Frankfurt finally enlisted some of the teachers, and partially because it was the approximate direction her class was in.

Unsurprisingly, it took Frankfurt all day to admit defeat, and in the meantime the professors matched the mood Al had set. In Herbology, Neville made his classes all about the snow-dwelling plants of Siberia (including an interesting specimen that appeared to be made of ice). In Charms, Professor Ernie MacMillan explained the mechanics of how Al had frozen the entire school. In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall (who was still teaching due to her inability to find a teacher she deemed worthy- she had fired the last five she'd tried in the position) had her students transfiguring their light summer clothes into ones worthy to be worn in the ice cold school. Professor Slughorn taught his younger students how to brew Pepper-Up Potion and the older ones a tricky little draught that would allow them to mediate their body temperature in even the strangest conditions. Such as the ones they were currently in.

Only Professors Denpedinger and Binns stubbornly refused to join in the merriment.

Al raced through the school all day, paying at least one visit to every class and causing general mayhem when he did. (He deposited the second year he'd grabbed at her first period and skated off grinning as she yelled insults at his back.)

Rose rolled her eyes as Professor McGonagall finally came to Frankfurt's rescue, seizing Al by the scruff of his neck as he tried to slip around her. He grinned brazenly and said something. She nodded exasperatedly and let him go, calling "Two weeks!" after him.

He joined her and Cammie as they headed back to the common room, cheeks red from the excercise he'd been getting that day. "Well, that was fun, ladies. Paying with detention for two weeks after Halloween, but still fun."

"_After_ Halloween, Al?" Rose raised an eyebrow. Interesting. McGonagall was letting him continue his prank week. She'd always known the woman had a soft spot for Al- she thought it might be because he looked just like Harry.

Once, she'd stormed into the Potter's kitchen looking for Lily (who had stolen her broom) and found Al and Harry sitting there eating breakfast. The same breakfast, on same side of the table while sitting in the same position. For a moment, she hadn't known which was which.

"After," he affirmed, throwing an arm around each of their shoulders. "And ladies, I need your help to get my next prank ready tonight. If you can find a way to get a hold of fifteen pumpkins, a jar of darkness powder, and at least twelve broomsticks, I will love you forever."

"Do I even want to know?" she was pretty sure she didn't.

"Probably not, Rosie dear, but you'll have to. I can't pull this one of on my own. Which reminds me, call your boy toy down too. I need his herb expertise."

Cam snickered. "When did he go from being your best friend to being Rose's boy toy?"

"At the party I threw the other night. I said it to piss her off and decided it amused me. Alright, I'll see you ladies later, I need to go to the library to find the spells I'll need." he kissed Rose's cheek and raced off, obviously high on his extremely successful first prank.

Or, possibly, high on something else. You never knew with Al.

Rose sighed. "Let's just go to bed and forget we ever saw him tonight. We'll want plausible deniability."

Cam grabbed her arm, a light in her eyes as Rose turned to look at her. "I want-"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"Rose!"

"No!"

"Let's help him!"

"No!"

"It'll be fun!"

"No!"

Cam sighed, pouting. "Please."

Rose groaned. "Fine."

"Yes!" Cammie threw her arms around the petite redhead, beaming. "To Hagrid's first. He'll be happy to help, and he'll have pumpkins. And we can raid all the broom closets on the way."

Rose watched her prance off, wondering why the hell she'd agreed to this. She was Head Girl. This was so not a good idea.

**A/N: Prank Week is fun, right? It's about to not be. REVIEW!**


	5. Angry Eyes and Jagged Teeth

Chapter Five: Angry Eyes and Jagged Teeth (Multiple)

**A/N: I'm terrible at writing accents, so forgive me once you get to the scene with Cam, Rose, and Hagrid! The bolded name before each section tells you who's the main voice. I know it seems to be very focused on Al despite the somewhat different voices, but believe me. It's because Al is the one that's setting the balls rolling in my diabolical plan.**

**SCORPIUS**

He turned just as he prepared to enter the common room, hearing the click-clack of a set of heels jogging down the hall (Al's ice had disappeared at precisely 8:00). Cammie skidded to a stop in front of him, breathless from chasing after him. He should have known it'd be her; there was no other girl in school as accomplished in the art of walking in heels. He waited patiently for her to find her voice.

"Al... wants help..." she panted, "with his... prank... He's in... the library."

"Why are. You telling. Me this. I swore. Never to. Help him. Again. After he. Left me. And let-"

"Stop making fun of me and start talking like a normal person," she scowled, folding her arms across her chest.

"Last time I pulled a prank with Al he ran off and let me get caught. So, I don't think I care that he wants help."

"Rose is helping."

"Well, alright then, he's in the library, is he?"

"Yes, but do you have a jar of instant darkness powder? He asked us to get some but I haven't bought that stuff in ages, and obviously Rose wouldn't have any so-" she broke off, scowling again. He was laughing at how fast she was talking.

Scorpius grinned. "Yeah, I do. I'll just get that and make my way to the library to find Al."

"Thanks, mate!" she clapped him on the shoulder and bounded off.

He shook his head and slipped into the Ravenclaw tower, hoping it was early enough that most of his housemates would still be at the library and not lounging in the common room. He was lucky enough for his wish to come true.

Feeling somewhat ashamed of the relief that swept through his stomach, the Malfoy quickly found his way to the dorm he shared with Alistair Robbins, Clark Feynman, Peter Pennington, and-

"Mark Boot," he greeted coolly, coming face to face with a Ravenclaw he sincerely believed should have been sorted into Slytherin.

"Malfoy. Where's your posse? Oh, right." he hit his forehead with his palm as if remembering something. "They're all in Gryffindor. Where you couldn't be because you're the cowardly slime we all want to get rid of."

"Just get out of my way," Scorpius snapped, attempting to step around him.

Boot's arm flew out, stopping him. "In a hurry, slime?"

"Do you care?" he smirked. "Are you going to miss my company? I'm sorry, Mark, darling- I have a girlfriend."

He ducked the fist Boot tried to slam into his nose, chuckling as he made his way to his bed to grab the darkness powder Al needed.

"Payback's a bitch, Malfoy!" Boot yelled after him.

"So are you!" Scorpius called back, snickering.

**ROSE**

She stood on a chair to kiss the aging gamekeeper's cheek, grinning. "Thanks for all the help, Hagrid. I'm not sure what Al's planning, but I'm sure you'll see in the morning."

"Aye, well, I'm sure I don' wanna know what tha' boy is plannin'." he clapped Rose on the back, knocking her into Cammie (who tumbled into a chair).

"I'm sure you don't," she grinned, straightening her robes and helping Cammie up. "I'll be down for tea on Sunday, alright?"

"Alrigh'. Careful, girls, don' let tha' crazy cousin o' Rose's get ye both killed."

"Promise," Cammie laughed, following Rose out.

"Okay, he said we can take the pumpkins nearest the fence, right?" she opened the bag he'd given them. Luckily he'd had the presence of mind to give them something with an extension charm that they could then levitate, since Al obviously had not considered how two girls would carry fifteen pumpkins across the school grounds.

They hadn't either, of course, but it was nice to blame Al.

"I shouldn't have worn heels," Cammie mumbled, stepping carefully through the dirt and weeds.

"No, really?" Rose asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I didn't realize we'd have to pick the pumpkins ourselves! I thought Hagrid would help!"

"And I thought I wouldn't be here at all, so you can just, you know, shut up and start helping me?"

They worked in silence, and it seemed to take forever, even magically cutting them loose and levitating them into the bag. Rose heard Cammie curse under her breath a few times- probably having tripped- but for the most part they only talked to say what number pumpkin they were cutting loose.

"Done," Rose finally announced, brushing the dirt off the knees of her jeans.

"Excellent. Now all we need is the brooms- I asked Scorpius to bring the instant darkness powder."

"Any clue what Al might be planning?" Cammie finally asked as they trudged back to the castle, both having been too lost in thought to have said anything to that point.

Rose considered it, and then shrugged. She realized after that Cammie couldn't really see the motion, dark as it was outside. "Your guess is as good as mine, Cam. I honestly don't understand half of what goes through his head. I have to say, though, it's obviously shaping up to be something interesting, and if he keeps on upping the stakes like this he won't be able to compete with himself by the end of the week."

Cammie giggled. "I guess you might be right, but personally I don't think Al will have a problem coming up with bigger and better pranks. Your Uncle George took him under his wing after James and Fred moved on from pranking to Quidditch and he needed to be sure someone would carry on his legacy."

"True." Rose raised her wand slightly so the bag of pumpkins could begin ascending the steps, slightly ahead of them. She wished she wasn't here; at home she had no problem assisting any of her cousins in the occasional prank, but at Hogwarts she was supposed to be a figure of authority.

Not knowing what Al was planning made it worse. She couldn't decide whether it was something she should stop in its infancy if she didn't know what it was.

"Question," Cammie said slowly. "How are we supposed to find them? It's after curfew; they'll have been kicked out of the-"

"Library? Yes, about twenty minutes ago. We've been waiting for you ladies. Ready to rock and roll?" Al slipped out of the shadows just outside the door, pushing it open for them like a proper gentleman.

He and Scorpius followed the girls in, carefully closing the door so as not to make a sound. "Is it all in that bag?"

Rose shook her head, matching his whisper as she responded. "We haven't gotten the broomsticks yet; they were too bulky to carry all the way to Hagrid's. However, he gave us a bag to put an extension charm, and we left a stash in that broom closet over there. I think we need three more, but we can grab those on the way to wherever we're going."

"Excellent plan, Rosie dear. Let's grab those brooms and head down to the lower levels; my pumpkin friends will want to be working their way up to gather all the bats, spider webs, and rats they want for their grand entrance."

The other exchanged questioning looks as Al bounded over to the closet Rose had indicated.

"Pumpkin friends?" Cammie mouthed.

"Be more concerned about the rats, bats, and spider webs," Rose muttered.

"Did you say something?" Al called softly, looking back over his shoulder as he pulled out brooms.

They all shook their heads.

**AL**

He knew they were all confused, and supposed they had a right to be, but it was truly quite simple. The brooms, pumpkins, rope and knives he'd borrowed from the kitchens (for carving the faces- he wanted to do it by hand) were to create four pumpkin headed, broom bodied creatures for him to enchant to life using the first of the three spells he'd found in the library.

The second would impose on them his will (though giving them a small amount of room for improvisation). And his will was for them to gather as many creepy crawlies as they could find to storm the Great Hall with and put on a performance.

The third charm would make it so once they found the rats and bats those creatures would also be caught under Al's controlling spell.

The darkness powder, however, was simply a precaution in case Frankfurt or a teacher popped up while they were working.

Simple.

It didn't take long for them to find the last of the brooms they needed, and as they hustled down to the dungeons Al explained his plan in a hushed voice.

Scorpius clapped his best mate on the back, laughing softly. "Brilliant, mate. But it seems a little more like a grand finale than only the second prank."

Al grinned, eyes lighting up in that way they did when he had planned the perfect prank. "Trust me, mate, it only gets better."

And what he had planned was truly spectacular. But it would never get the chance to come to fruition.

Al handed out the supplies to each of them, having determined they would spread out, build the creatures, and then set them to life, so once they were created they could immediately start covering ground. They were each given five pumpkins (one for the head, one for each hand, and one for each foot), four brooms (one as the body, one as each leg, and one to stretch across and form both arms), a lengthy piece of rope, and a knife.

"If you don't want to carve by hand, by all means don't, I just figured I'd give you the option."

Scorpius and Rose both went ahead and handed theirs back, shrugging apologetically. "This is going to take long enough already," Rose gave by way of explanation. Scorpius nodded in agreement.

Al shrugged. "So be it." He clapped his hands together, looking around. "Alright, looks like we're ready. We'll be spread in an approximate line, Rose at one end, Scorpius at the other, me and Cam in the middle. If anything happens, we should be within earshot of each other. Everybody can handle a levitation charm big enough to carry all of this?"

Three heads nodded back at him. "Then good luck, have fun, meet back here with me when you're done."

Rolling up his sleeves was the first step, as Al looked at his pile of ingredients. He could already see it forming in his eye, tall and broom skinny (obviously) with pumpkin topped appendages. Only the head would be carved, of course, but he could see that already too.

"A wide, fiendish grin, with angry eyes and jagged teeth," he muttered to himself, settling down to work. The sounds of his friends' footsteps faded into the distance as he set about his task diligently, and soon the only noises were those he was making and those soft, creaky sounds you could always hear in an ancient building.

He was just starting to carve the face when he heard it, coming off from the direction where Scorpius was. Loud voices, arguing, the sound of a girl begging- he didn't know what for but in an instant he was up, running, pumpkin creature forgotten behind him.

Al slipped out his wand and slowed to a walk as he came to the last corner, peering around to try and figure out what was happening.

Mark Boot was happening. It appeared that he and his goon friends had been out wandering with their lady folk- certainly looking for an empty classroom or convenient broom closet- and had come across Scorpius. Al's pumpkin creation lay forgotten, mostly finished but with one hand smashed to pieces under the boot of one of the Ravenclaw idiots.

He managed to catch the eye of one of the girls, motioning for her to get out. Things were getting heated between Scorpius and the three boys, as they always did between Scorpius and the other members of his house. She grabbed the blonde next to her and slipped out the corridor just behind them, but the last girl was trapped by a blank piece of wall and her boyfriend next to her.

"Gentleman, gentleman, let's calm things, shall we?" Al said peacefully, stepping out after slipping his wand back up his sleeve. Easy access if he needed it, but for now he could hold up his hands and look non-threatening.

"Potter!" one of the boys snarled- a brute that hated Al due to the miscommunication regarding the Gryffindor and the other boy's girlfriend. I.E., Al had snogged her because she'd told him she was single. His wand flew towards Al, but the Auror's son had the presence of mind to duck the hex that was sent his way.

This was the excuse needed, however. Things erupted into mayhem.

**ROSE**

She passed Cam with a nod, headed back towards Al. She'd gotten it done as quickly as she could, and now all it needed was the enchantments. In his excitement, Al had forgotten to give them to the other members of his prank posse.

Things were so quiet in the castle at night; she knew Al was just around the corner, but she would have sworn on everything she found interesting that he wasn't there.

He wasn't there.

She stopped, frozen at the edge of his workspace, wondering at the half-carved pumpkin head that rested next to the completed body. He'd left with his pride and joy unfinished.

A sound broke through the stillness of the night- a shouted hex, it sounded. Listening more closely as she sprinted towards where Scorpius was supposed to be, she realized there were more. Some kind of a duel was occurring. She stepped up the pace as she heard the sounds began to fade, most likely as those involved got knocked out. A single shriek cut through the gloom, and the silence was complete once more.

She rounded the corner and skidded to a stop, staring in horror at the scene before her.

Scorpius, Mark Boot, and two other Ravenclaws were sprawled in various areas across the floor, out cold from the effects of their duel.

But Al... Al stood, holding a dripping, bloody knife over the impossibly still body of Tracy Nugent, from whom a pool of blood was slowly creeping across the floor.

She met his eyes, and he stared back at her with as much horror in his face. "Rose, I... I don't remember anything... Rose, I think I might have killed her..."

**A/N: And on that note, I leave you to stare in horror at your computer screens. Review, my friends, or I shall abandon this story now, without your finding out what happened. I want at least one for each chapter, preferably not all from the same person, but I won't get too picky.**


	6. The Biggest Clue

Chapter Six: The Biggest Clue (Harry)

**A/N: Everybody, thank Mrs. Grint-Cozart-Felton-Horan for reviewing every single chapter of this story and rescuing all of you from a day without an update :)**

He was furious. "Jessica Albarran, you are my subordinate! I realize this is your case but when you are unable to find a lead I have the right, as the Head of this department, to go in myself and try to find one!"

"Harry, don't you dare talk to me as if we didn't graduate from the academy together!" Jessica folded her arms over her chest, scowling. "He's your son, dammit, you cannot get involved with this one! If he's innocent, and you're the one who finds the evidence, no one will believe that you didn't plant it!"

"Then you can use Veritaserum on me, Jessica, but I will not let you sit there without a single way to figure out what happened that night! All of the kids involved have had their memories wiped, yes? We have no idea what happened down there!" he turned to the aging Auror in the corner, face desperate. "Walter, back me up here."

Walter Jenkins, Harry's original partner (from the days when he was a rookie and had to be partnered with a more experienced Auror), shook his head slowly. "Harry, you should not get involved with this one. But Jessica, I think we both know we will not be able to change his mind on this, so just keep a close eye on him."

"That is not him giving you support on this, Harry!" Jessica yelled at Harry's retreating back, but the Head Auror had left the moment Walter had said he could go. "Harry! Don't you dare leave without- shit." she sprinted off after him.

S&CBS&CBS&CBS&CBS&CBS&CB

He'd never seen his son look as gaunt as he did when he entered the room. Albus was slumped back in a chair, looking scruffy, unwashed, and incredibly tired. It made him look old. He did not smile as Harry slowly sat down across the table from him, clearing his throat in trepidation.

"Let's just, let's start at the beginning. Start with why you were down in the dungeons."

A scowl flitted across Al's face, but he straightened in his chair and shook his head ever so slightly, trying to focus. He had barely slept in two days. "I was working on a prank."

Harry nodded, motioning for him to continue. "What was the prank?"

"You fucking know what prank, Dad!" Al snapped. "You were the one who asked Aunt Hermione where I should look in the library for the spells I needed!"

"Albus Severus Potter, don't you dare-"

Al barked a laugh. "Don't I dare what? Don't I dare use that language in front of you? I think that's the least of my problems, Dad."

Harry's mouth tightened into a line. "Just go back to what happened that night," he ground out between clenched teeth.

"I went to the library to find the spells, after I'd run into Rose and Cam and asked them to get a hold of some pumpkins, some brooms, and some darkness powder." he spoke in a monotone, obviously tired of having to recount this. "While I was there, Scorpius showed up. I'd also asked the girls to find him for me. They'd apparently asked him to grab the darkness powder for them, but once we actually looked at the jar we realized he'd run out. It didn't really matter all that much; we weren't expecting company. Madam Pince threw us out not long after, since it was just before curfew, so we went down to wait for the girls to get back from Hagrid's. I assumed that's where they went to get the pumpkins, and I was right. We finished rounding up the brooms I needed and went down to the dungeons. We spread out to build the creatures, and while I was carving the face, I heard loud voices from over where Scorpius was."

Al faltered at this point,adjusting his glasses.

"And?"

"And the last thing I remember is taking off running to go help my best mate! I don't even remember taking the knife with me, I thought I left it behind, still sticking out of the pumpkin!" Al roared, standing abruptly, his chair falling backwards. "I don't remember anything else from that night! I can't even remember the parts that they tell me, after an hour or so they start to fade away! The only reason I know that Tracy Nugent was murdered is because the next thing I remember is yesterday morning, when her youngest sister broke through the guards and slapped me awake, screaming incoherently at the top of her lungs!"

He kicked the chair, breath coming out wildly.

"Al..." Harry said quietly, knowing he needed to calm down.

"What, Dad?" Al growled, setting his hands on the table and leaning over it, scowling darkly. "What do you want me to say? Do you want me to say I killed her? Do you want me to say I didn't? Do you want me to say I took that knife and slit her throat, or do you want me to say I tried to fight off whoever it was that did?"

"I want you to be able to tell me what happened!" Harry snapped, rising to mirror Al, without even noticing he was. This was always what he did when interrogating a suspect- though he hated to think that was what he was doing.

"Well, Dad, I fucking can't!"

The door cracked open, Jessica sliding in. "Potter."

Both of their heads snapped around, and almost at the same time they snarled, "What?"

She stopped, gaping. Al looked like he'd aged twenty years in the past two days between the slight stubble and the worry lines on his face. If Harry hadn't been in a suit she wouldn't have known which of them was which.

"Harry-" she cleared her throat nervously, peeling her eyes away from Al and over to her boss. "Harry, Rose Weasley is ready to talk to you when you're done here."

He straightened, glancing at Al once last time as he fidgeted with his jacket. "I think I am. He remembers nothing of use."

"I could have told you that," she muttered as she stepped aside, holding the door open for him to exit the room.

He shot her a glare as he slipped past. He heard Al fall back into the upright chair, exhausted, but he didn't turn back until Al spoke, softly. "I don't know anything any more, Dad. I don't think I killed her, but I don't know any more."

"I know you didn't do it, Al, even if you don't," Harry murmured, meeting his son's eyes. "Now I just have to prove it."

Al nodded, and Harry watched him bury his face in his hands as the door swung closed.

Harry slumped against the wall, doing the same. "Merlin," he muttered. Composing himself, he straightened, and gave Jessica a withering look. "The girl's sister broke through to attack my son?"

She fidgeted. "Ah, yes, well, we'd just gotten here, and the boys were arguing over who had to stand duty first, and she just sort of snuck in past us."

"This is why you should never be put in charge of anything, the guys don't respect you." He raised a hand, stalling her indignant complaint. "It's not your fault, it's theirs. But the fact of the matter remains that you're going to have to do something to get them to. You'll figure it out. Now where's Rose?"

"That room," Jessica muttered, pointing.

"Don't sulk, it's unbecoming." he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Rose flung herself at him, catching him by surprise and slamming him against the door.

"Uncle Harry! He didn't do it, I just know he didn't, don't you dare let them arrest him! He doesn't have a violent bone in his body, you know Al!"

"Rose!"

"He would never murder someone, I mean if he's endured Allistair Robbins all these years he would never do any to Tracy! Even if he's still a little bitter over that time she kneed him for insulting her sister!"

"Rose!"

"Oh, Uncle Harry, there's no way he-"

Harry finally slapped a hand over her mouth, forcing her to stop talking. "Calm yourself," he ordered. "Do you honestly think I believe that my son murdered someone?"

He guided her to a chair and then sat down next to her, hands comfortably settled on the arm rests. "Just tell me what you saw."

"Alright." she took a shuddering breath, clasping her hands in her lap anxiously. "Al asked us for help with his prank, so we- that would be Cammie, uh, Cameron Morgan, and I- headed down towards Hagrid's. Cam remembered we were supposed to find Scorpius, too, so she went to get him while I continued down, collecting brooms as I went. I left those in a closet in the entrance hall and then headed to Hagrid's. Cam got there not long after I did, because despite wearing heels constantly she walks very fast. Hagrid let us borrow a bag, I put an extension charm on it, and after collecting all the pumpkins I levitated it as we went back to the castle. Al and Scorpius were waiting outside the door for us, so we went in, collected the last of the brooms, and headed down to the dungeons.

"Scorpius and I both declined the use of a knife to carve the head, because I think neither of us particularly wanted to be helping and therefore didn't want to take too long. Al, however, was in love with his stupid prank and wanted to do it right. And Cam has a huge crush on Al, so she- erm, anyway. I finished, but I realized Al was an idiot and forgot to tell us what the spells were so we couldn't actually bring the things to life. I headed back to where Al was, but he wasn't there. I heard the fighting and I took off. The sounds actually got smaller as I got closer, so I think they had started knocking each other out at that point. But then there was a shriek, and the sounds stopped. When I got there..." she bit her lip.

"When you got there..." Harry prompted gently.

"Al was the only person who was conscious. He was standing over Tracy with the knife in his hand. He looked at me, and he told me that he thought he might have killed her."

"What did he say?"

"That he couldn't remember anything, and he thought he might have killed her."

"No, what did he say _exactly_?"

Rose frowned, making sure she was getting it right. "He said, 'Rose, I... I don't remember anything... Rose, I think I might have killed her.' And then he collapsed, I honestly don't know why, but he did. And then I ran to find Cam, and I dragged her to Professor McGonagall's office."

Harry cocked his head to the side, suddenly looking extremely interested. "That's what he said? Exactly what he said?"

"Erm, yeah..."

"Are you sure?"

Rose frowned. "Yes, I'm certain, it's kind of engraved in there... Uncle Harry, what are you thinking?"

"And when you passed the spot where Al had been working. Did you see a knife in the pumpkin?"

"I... no, the knife was with Al, I already told you that." she looked confused.

"Alright," Harry rose, looking thoughtful. "Thank you, Rose. You can go now."

"Yes, sir..." she stood and walked to the door. Rose set a hand on the knob to leave, but she let it fall, turning to fling herself into his arms, crying softly.

"It's okay, Rose, we'll figure it out, alright?" he murmured, stroking her hair. "We'll find out who did this. Take a moment to compose yourself and then head back to class."

She pulled back, wiping her eyes, laughing slightly. "Uncle Harry, it's Sunday."

"Ah. Well, then, take a moment to compose yourself and then go... do some homework, or something..." He ran a hand through his hair, shrugging awkwardly.

She took a deep breath, getting herself under control. "Okay. I hope I was helpful. Tell Al... I dunno. What do you tell your cousin and best friend who is being held under suspicion of murder?"

"I dunno either." his lips twitched slightly in a grin. "When I was in school, I always seemed to be the one everybody thought killed someone."

S&CBS&CBS&CBS&CBS&CBS&CB

"He didn't do it," Harry said confidently, sitting down next to Jessica.

"I agree that it's more than likely he didn't. I mean, I've met the kid before, and he didn't strike me as homicidal. But Harry, he was found standing over the girl with the murder weapon. There's no proof he didn't."

"I have proof."

"You- wait, what?" Jessica blinked.

"It's rather circumstantial," he admitted, "but it's enough that you should be confident broadening your investigation."

"I'm listening- I'm skeptical, but I'm listening."

"First of all, while he was yelling at me he said 'Do you want me to say I took that knife and slit her throat,' and-"

"And she was stabbed in the heart, although no one has told him that. But Harry, that doesn't mean anything; it's very possible that he made that flub on purpose to make us think that he's innocent."

"Alright, fine." Harry leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees. "Let's look at what they said. Rose, Al, Scorpius, and Cam's stories all fit together up to the point where they split up. Right up until Rose found Al missing; Al says he left the knife behind, but Rose says it definitely wasn't in the pumpkin."

Jessica shook her head slowly. "Harry, that doesn't help him. It makes it look like he's lying."

"I know, I know. We'll go back to that later. So when Rose entered the scene, Malfoy, Boot, Feynman, and Pennington were all unconscious, and Tracy Nugent was dead. Al told her that he couldn't remember anything, but that he though he'd killed Nugent. Yet, Al doesn't remember anything of the exchange."

"I see where you're going. Whoever blanked all of their memories would have wiped his memory, then returned later to wipe his memory. And-"

"And if they were going to wipe out the last few moments from Al's mind, why wouldn't they wipe Rose's? Because what Al said to her- that's the biggest clue."

"So the killer must have still been there, because I think you're trying to say that Al was under the Imperius Curse. It's the only way he would be speaking and moving but not remember any of it. Now wipe that grin off your face and tell me what is so important about what he said to Rose."

"I'll get to that in a moment. It's the best part, I have to save it for the end. Now, when you questioned those other three Ravenclaws, they all claimed to have had their girlfriends with them. But where were the other two girls? When did they leave? Did the killer realize they had been there? Jess, I'd be willing to bet those girls would be able to fill in at least a few of the blanks. And frankly, I'm disappointed you hadn't caught that already."

She quailed slightly under his admonishing gaze.

"But first, back to the knife. Al's memory is, obviously, unreliable, but if he did in fact leave the knife behind, then how did it end up in his hand?"

"Someone had to have brought it to him. So, unless one of the guys ran off, grabbed it, and came back, it wasn't any of them either." Jessica nodded. "Assuming he didn't bring it himself, anyway."

"And I'm inclined to believe him. But now for the finale- he called her Rose." Harry sat back, crossing his arms over his chest, looking pleased with himself.

Jessica blinked. "I don't understand. Her name is Rose. He called her Rose. Why is that a big deal?"

"Have you noticed I never call him Albus?" Harry stood, pacing slowly. "And I always call my daughter Lil, not Lily."

"Harry, stop confusing me and get to the point."

"I am, I am." Harry held up a hand, placating her. "And no one but the elder Molly Weasley ever calls Ron Ronald. Victoire is Vicky, William is Bill, Angelina is Angie, Lucy is Luce and Ginevra is Ginny.

"And Al always, _always_ calls his favorite cousin Rosie."

**A/N: Well, in that case... Who did do it? Review and I might tell you.**


	7. Making Allies

Chapter Seven: Making Allies (Al)

He was mentally, physically, utterly exhausted, but sleep eluded him. He could close his eyes, relax his body, slow his breathing- not turn off his mind. No, control of that particular organ had flown out the window days ago. He desperately craved the peaceful abyss of sleep, for his mind seemed ever in high alert, ever straining to see into the blank spot that was two nights ago.

Every time he came close, every time he managed to drowse, he'd gasp awake yet again, thinking he'd remembered something, anything, to help his father solve the case. But it would slip away from his waking mind the way shadows retreat from the sun.

Al finally abandoned the chair, back stiff and butt sore, and stretched out flat across the floor, burying his face in the carpet. He could at least try to rest physically if not mentally.

The carpet smelled like mildew and something sweeter and far more disturbing. But then again, he was probably the one who smelled like blood.

He hadn't been let change yet, after all.

He hadn't killed Tracy. Logically, he knew it made no sense for him to have blanked his own memory after doing so. While the outside world might have cause to wonder, due to the fact that it was quite easy to claim amnesia and very difficult to prove, he himself knew he had it. And it was, of course, easier to prove in the Wizarding World, what with Veritaserum.

The Aurors apparently just hadn't seen the need to stoop so low so quickly.

So, if he hadn't done it, who had? He struggled to remember who the Aurors had said were there. Himself, obviously. Scorpius- that was who he'd been rushing to the aid of just before his mind went blank, right? They'd mentioned...

He wound his fingers in his hair, growling against the floor. He didn't understand why these things weren't sticking in his head. There wasn't a memory charm that could do that, was there? He'd have to ask Rosie.

If he ever got the chance to see Rosie. If they didn't just ship him off to Azkaban and have done with it.

Mark Boot. He wasn't certain, but that sounded right to a part of hi. It also made sense for it to have been Boot from the standpoint that he and Scorpius were archenemies, and few others randomly fought with Scorpius just for the sake of fighting with Scorpius. The guy was big, well-muscled, and the son of a former Death Eater, after all. He could be a teensy bit intimidating.

If Boot was there, some of his cronies must have been the other two guys. Probably not Allistair Robbins (Merlin, how Al hated that guy), as the smarmy git was too aristocratic to get his hands dirty. So that left Feynman and Pennington.

And, of course, there had been Tracy.

But that didn't add up- why had Tracy been there? Al released his hair and rolled over, now staring up at the ceiling. She had been Boot's girlfriend, and being a woman he would think she wouldn't have wanted to have gone on a date with the cronies in tow.

The door opened, Jessica stepping inside. Before she could open her mouth, he asked the question that suddenly felt very, very important.

"Who else was there?"

She looked around in confusion- Al was lying down next to the table on the opposite side, and obviously she couldn't see him from the door.

"Over here," he said helpfully, stretching up one hand to wave at her.

She stepped around the table, one eyebrow rising ever so slightly at the sight of him lying down on the floor, and shrugged. "You tell me."

He pushed himself up on his elbows, scowling. "I would, you see, but some maniac bastard killed a girl, wiped my memory, and left the knife in my hand. So honestly, I don't know."

"Why do you think there was anyone else there?"

"Because there were three Ravenclaw bastards but only one Ravenclaw girlfriend. So either there was more people there than you've told me about, or I need to ask "Why was Tracy there?" But that question seemed the more prudent."

Jessica studied him with an unreadable face, probably judging the merit of his words. "Why?"

"Why did it seem more prudent?" Al queried in return, brow furrowing. He wasn't sure. It had just felt right. "I dunno. It just did."

She sighed, stepping past him to take the chair his father- and more recently himself- had vacated. He wriggled in a circle to still be facing her. He felt far too tired to stand. "You're so your father's child."

"I really wish people wouldn't say that. Because my father's life is all so enviable, right?" Al grimaced. "I always knew it wasn't, but for some reason the point really seems to have pressed home the past few days."

She shrugged. "Doesn't change the fact that you and he are almost creepily alike at times."

Al opened his mouth to protest again, but she raised a hand to quiet him. "Let me speak. You and your father being alike isn't what I came in here to talk about. Your father and I just came to the same conclusion you did, but with a few more hints. We already knew the other two guys had their girlfriends with them. We even have their names-"

"Tell me," Al demanded, but was sent a withering glare. "Continue," he muttered.

"-which are Leslie Richards and Karli Adams."

"Such nice girls to be sucked in by such rotten gits," he lamented.

"Could you stop interrupting me?" Jessica snapped, the withering glare returning.

"Oh, please, Madam, talk all you like. I have nothing better to do than listen to the sound of your voice," he said it like a gentleman, but she sensed a sour undertone.

"Alright. So we know who the girls are. And while the other guys' story doesn't quite add up to the one Scorpius gave- they claim he popped up out of the blue and attacked them- both groups agree that the two were there at the start of the disagreement."

"I-" Al groaned, dropping back down off his elbows, head thunking against the ground with a sound that made Jessica wince, even if he didn't. "I almost knew something, for a second there," he muttered, frustrated.

"That's interesting," she mused, leaning back in the chair. "The way you keep forgetting facts after they've been told to you- that suggests a memory charm called _ that is an offshoot of the typical sets. It's a very tricky, quirky little spell and very few people try to use it. It doesn't simply block out your memories and keep you from getting at them; it honestly _erases_ the memories in question, and further it keeps you from knowing any parts related to them preferably until you stop trying to remember they ever happened."

Al caught on long before she finished speaking. As she paused, he picked up where she'd left off. "And since very few people would try such a spell, the use of it should suggest someone well-versed in memory charms and with a very strong understanding of how to use them. But the fact that I'm remembering things, even a touch of things, tells us that it's not a strong wizard; it's an arrogant yet under qualified wizard. And, while I doubt they were ever really suspects, the teachers of Hogwarts have now been excluded."

Trying not to feel upstaged, Jessica nodded. "Exactly."

"And why are you telling me all of this?" Al raised an eyebrow. "I try to ignore my father most of the time, but I've still managed to pick up that generally Aurors don't reveal their clues to their prime suspects."

A smile flitted across her face. "Your father certainly wouldn't approve of what I'm thinking, Albus. You see, I'm fairly certain at this point that you didn't do it, which means that very soon- once I find something less circumstantial that doesn't depend on your cousin or best friend's testimonies- you will be released back into the general Hogwarts population. And as your father proved time and time again in his own right, sometimes all it takes is a Potter in the middle of a situation for it to come unraveled."

Al propped himself back up, eyebrow raised. "So you're giving me the clues and hoping I can solve it because you certainly can't."

"No, I'm giving you all the clues and hoping you can solve it because you'll probably be able to do it faster than I can."

DWTDDWTDDWTDDWTDDWTDDWTD

The conversation with Jessica had soothed his seething mind, and Al finally managed to drift to sleep. Of course, somewhere inside of him he was still pondering the suspects. (The two girls, Leslie and Karli, Boot and his cronies if in fact one of them was lying about the amnesia, and perhaps people with a grudge against he himself, as they'd successfully managed to screw up his year.) But he also knew that there was really nothing else he could do without more information.

His mother, apparently, did not agree.

Al started awake, the murmur of voices on the other side of the door coming to a crescendo.

"WELL, WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T _THINK_ HE DID IT? HARRY JAMES POTTER, DO NOT TELL ME YOU EVEN CONSIDERED FOR A MOMENT THAT OUR SON MIGHT HAVE _MURDERED SOMEONE?"_

A pause, in which Harry obviously attempted to calm her down unsuccessfully.

"HE WHAT? ARE YOU TELLING ME OUR SON HAS BEEN LOCKED IN A ROOM FOR TWO DAYS? HE'S A HUMAN, YOU IDIOTS, NOT A-"

Al stopped listening, instead he stood and stretched. He'd needed that. Wondering how long he'd actually managed to sleep but guessing approximately two hours, he walked around the room for a few moments.

His mother's screeching paused again, and he wondered when his father would give in and let her see him- Ginny was unlikely to give up. He rubbed his chin, grimacing at the stubble he found there. He felt disgusting, and knew his mother would flip even more to see him as unkempt as he certainly was, but there was really very little he could do about that. Being without wand, water, soap, or razor.

Idly, he tried the door handle, and shockingly found it unlocked. He didn't want to test his luck by making an unexpected appearance at scream fest- his father was officially bellowing back, defending his Aurors from Ginny's sharp-tongued attack it sounded like- but it was an interesting tidbit he could make use of later.

His father had walked into to find him angry and walked out to see him broken, and Jessica had walked in to find him calculating and walked out to have made an ally. So many facets to Al Potter, he chuckled to himself.

And everyone had thought all he could do was crack a joke.

He was studying the painting in the corner by the time Ginny was let in, nose almost touching the canvas. He glanced over his shoulder when the door cracked open, grinning lopsidedly at her.

"'Lo, Mum."

She stalked across the room, dragging him into better light. She knew all the tricks the Potter boys had, he supposed ruefully.

"You look terrible," she informed him, scowling darkly. "Have you bathed since Friday?"

"Not since Thursday evening, actually. I don't like taking showers in the morning, and, you see, I'd intended to hit the showers after the prank, to remove any and all pumpkin guts I was likely to spill all over myself."

"Have you slept at all?" she pushed him down in the upright chair, retrieving the one he'd kicked and bringing it over next to him.

"Your yelling woke me up, actually."

"Sorry." she leaned forward, briskness forgotten, and hugged him tightly.

"Not to worry, Mum," he said soothingly, patting her back. "Whatever 'think' they might have told you, they know it wasn't me, I know it wasn't me, Rosie and Scorpius know it wasn't me- er, well, I certainly hope they do. It would be rather crummy of them to think I did, and I'm sure by this point the teachers, at least, know it wasn't me. I can inform the rest of the school myself once they have enough proof that they can justify letting me go."

"Shouldn't they have to be finding proof to keep you _in_ not let you out? That's really what's wrong with our justice system these days, everything's backwards form how it should be, and-"

"Mum, you seem to be forgetting that I was standing over a dead girl holding the knife that killed her," he stated bluntly. "Don't start going off on Dad. He's trying to hold it together himself."

After a moment of silence, he asked the question that had been bothering him since she walked in. "How'd you even get here, anyway? Wouldn't McGonagall have had to let you in?"

"She did let me in."

"I see." he really didn't, to be honest. He would have thought McGonagall would have been pissed enough that her school was crawling with Aurors, much less random Weasleys showing up to defend their third youngest brood member.

But then again, she'd always seemed to have a soft spot for the Potters.

**A/N: Guys, I'm thrilled with the reviews I've been getting! Thanks so much to . . .me and CrimsonBludger83 for both reviewing chapter six! And by all means, don't stop ;)  
**

**P.S. I was thinking about this and just felt the need to say it- I'm American, so any Brits out there annoyed by my misuse of colloquialisms- sorry :/  
**


	8. Knowing the Price

Chapter Eight: Knowing the Price (Rebecca)

She and Scorpius had been destined to be friends. They were both social outcasts in their house. He was the son of a former Death Eater, the first Ravenclaw ever born under the Malfoy name (plenty had married in, his mother included), and had inherited a lofty prejudice therefore. He tended to respond to friendly chit-chat with sarcasm and quips, a reliable shield against the torments of Hogwarts that had been necessary when he was younger but now simply intimidated those who could have grown into his friends.

She, on the other hand, was outspoken and abrasive, a big personality to make up for a little body, hard to impress and loud to voice her criticisms. It didn't help that she was a Transfiguration genius- to the point that as a second year McGonagall was already grooming her to finally be the replacement she'd been searching for by giving her special lessons three days a week. (She helped Scorpius with his homework on a regular basis, as Transfiguration was the only subject that didn't seem to come easily to him.) This she loved, because the subject was her greatest passion in life, but it intimidated the others in her year. It set her far apart from them, and combined with the friendship she'd developed with Scorpius...

Well, it was a good thing that being friends with him had gotten him to give her a chance on the Quidditch team, because she had a feeling that her reputation of being deadly with a bat had been her only savior from the bullies that plagued the school.

She was also short. Nobody wanted to be friends with someone quite as short as she was. Scorpius didn't seem to care that she only came up to his elbow, and that was what had made them friends in the first place.

And now he was miserable, numb with shock that his best friend was being held under suspicion of committing murder, and by extent that made her miserable. Which kind of pissed her off, because honestly she'd actually genuinely gotten along with Tracy whenever Tracy had bothered to notice her- which was more often than most- and she wasn't much a fan of Al's.

It had something to do with the fact that he called her pipsqueak.

Rebecca could honestly not care less if Albus Potter was arrested and thrown in Azkaban, because he annoyed the hell out of her and half the population of Hogwarts (the half that wasn't his family or in love with him), but she cared about her only living friend in the world (besides those she had back home, in Muggle London where she'd grown up and hadn't been some unapproachable prodigy). So she was walking around aimlessly, ranting to the nice old woman from the painting in the Ravenclaw common room that was happy to follow her through other people's paintings whenever she needed to talk to someone.

The unfortunate effect of talking to someone who was painted was that she had to stick to the more traveled areas of the castle, as paintings became few and far between the farther you wandered from civilization. Also, it made her look like she was talking to herself.

This didn't help her make friends.

Tired of getting strange looks, she finally told Marie (the Victorian portrait she was conversing with) to meet her at this blank old painting randomly hung in an otherwise barren corridor on the fifth floor. Marie had to meet her there because the fastest way (for a living human) involved the sorts of passageways where very few paintings were.

"Anything you want, dear," she smiled politely, stepping out of the portrait of a well-mustachioed man (who looked very awkward over her intrusion) and disappearing.

She felt lonely- not something she often gave in to- as she stomped through various shortcuts on her way up three floors to the painting she was looking for. At one point she came across a fifth year couple snogging in a secret passageway. They told her to get lost. She told the guy he was using way too much tongue and if the girl had told him she was enjoying the kiss then she was lying through her teeth. They'd started fighting as she turned a corner; because of course she'd been absolutely right.

It was enough to brighten her mood, at least a bit.

She was only a few passages away from her destination when some person in a cloak shoved past her, face in shadow.

"Watch where you're going!" Rebecca yelled after them, scowling ferociously. Why the hell was that guy (or maybe girl, she couldn't be sure) in so much of a hurry that they couldn't be bothered to pause and apologize for hitting her? She was small, but she wasn't nonexistent, and she certainly wasn't passive enough to let this slide!

Turning on her heel, she bumped up into a jog, just seeing the tail of the person's cloak rounding the corner. "Oi! Slow down, ye git! You're needing a lesson in manners!" (She was one to talk, wasn't she?)

Red in the face and red in the mind, she finally gave up three or four turns later, determining that she had never really had a chance of catching the person. They'd been moving too fast, and after that first glimpse she hadn't really known what direction they'd taken.

"You're out of shape, Rebecca," she chastised herself, putting her hands behind her head and breathing slowly, trying to get herself back under control. "You shouldn't be huffing and puffing after a few minutes of jogging."

It seemed to take forever before her breathing was back to normal, but that might have had something to do with the fact that she kept berating herself the entire time.

Hoping Marie hadn't gotten bored of waiting and gone back to the common room, Rebecca set back off towards the blank painting. She never got there, because a turn away from where she'd taken off after the cloaked annoyance she realized why they'd been in such a hurry.

Well, at least Scorpius could lighten up a little, she mused as she sprinted towards McGonagall's office. Al obviously couldn't have committed this murder.

"I know it's Monday!" she snarled, tiny fists clenched at her sides.

The gargoyle stared down at her, arms crossed over its chest. It was unimpressed by her display of anger. "You are not to be let in except on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays," it informed her, calmly.

"I'm not here for a lesson, you idiot!" she shouted, barely managing to stop herself from stomping her foot. "I have to see the Headmistress NOW!"

"You can't," it said simply.

She closed her eyes, breathing coming out in furious gasps. "Look," she said, teeth gritted. "Trust me when I say she will not be upset with you for letting me in, but what I have to say probably should not be shared in the middle of the hallway! I do not want to cause a panic!"

"I cannot let you in to see the Headmistress. She has requested not to be disturb-"

The stairs creaked into motion, Professor McGonagall appearing with an annoyed expression on her face. "Miss Cramer, I can hear you yelling all the way from my office, and I must say I am highly disappointed in your antics. Please do not disturb me again today, I-"

"Professor, please," she squeaked, eyes wide. She grabbed her sleeve and pulled her down to her level- quite a ways to stoop for the tall woman. "There's been another... I mean, I found another... Alice Longbottom is dead."

TTMTTMTTMTTMTTMTTMTTMTTM

Rebecca was in the eye of the hurricane; all about her, Aurors rushed and scurried and yelled, but for now no one was asking her any questions and so she just sat, knees pulled tight to her chest. Across from her there was a door, and she was almost certain that AL Potter was on the other side, listening intently, trying to figure out what was happening.

Most of the school didn't know yet, she was pretty sure she'd been the only soul in that part of the school- besides the killer, whom had apparently run into her. She shivered, thinking off the unseen taint left all over her. Malice from the killer and death from the dead.

Professor McGonagall was almost certainly dealing with Neville- poor Professor Longbottom. He was such a nice man, and such a father figure to anyone who needed it. She had, last year, and so he was her favorite teacher (actually, second to Professor McGonagall, but that was only because of her subject).

Or maybe Al's dad was. She'd heard he was here, and Neville had mentioned before that they'd been friends at school. Maybe it would be best coming from him.

Things were calming down now. Most of the Aurors were gone; scrutinizing the crime scene, she was sure. The only one left was some guy in the far corner, and he had his back to her. He was also on the phone.

The door across from her cracked and Al poked his head out. At least, she was pretty sure it was Al. It seemed kind of stupid for them to leave his door unlocked, but she supposed that they must trust his honor, being a Gryffindor. And he certainly didn't look as polished and upbeat as he normally did.

He spotted her and motioned her over quickly. For curiosity and lack of anything better to do, she went. He closed the door softly behind her.

"What's happening?" he asked, studying her.

"They know you didn't kill Tracy Nugent," she whispered, staring down at her shoes.

"That's... I don't think that's good, based on your face. Rebecca, what happened?" he asked gently, kneeling down in front of her and nudging her chin up so she met his eyes.

"The killer struck again, and I found her," she said softly, but more forcefully than her meek whisper of before.

"Found who?" he asked, anxiously. His mind must be darting to a thousand different conclusions, but she doubted he would guess who it really was.

"Alice Longbottom." she hadn't expected to see him look so defeated; he should be happy, shouldn't he? He was off the hook. But he released her shoulders and slumped back against the leg of the table, looking positively numb.

"Alice..." he murmured, rubbing his face with one hand. I've known her since we were four, you know. She's... she was such a passionate person, so good and kind, just like her father... I can't believe..."

He was muttering to himself, not really to her, but she finally understood why Scorpius was such good friends with this bloke. He was more than he acted like he was, and she definitely understood that one.

And when he mentioned how like her father she'd been, Rebecca remembered again the time when she'd been crying in the greenhouse, unable to find Neville and desperately needing a friend. Alice had been looking for him too, apparently, but instead she found a tiny first year with her face in her hands. And she'd hugged her- not knowing who she was, why she was upset, she'd just hugged a complete stranger. She was one of the few who'd ever been nice to Rebecca.

And the tears she'd been holding in started flowing. She buried her face in Al's neck, clinging to him, and he put his arms around her too.

"An hour ago I was praying to get out of here," he murmured, once more to himself rather than her. "But knowing the price, I'd rather spend the rest of the year stuck in this room."

**A/N: He's such a softy. I wanted to introduce you all to Rebecca a little more, because I think she'll be having a big role later, and you need the explanation of her and Scorpius being friends. Now, I know it's not a cliffhanger, but my friends, I still wish dearly that you would review. It would mean so much to me. Pretty, pretty please?**


	9. The Thought of it Made His Stomach Turn

Chapter Nine: The Thought of It Made His Stomach Turn (Scorpius)

He waited for Al alongside Rose, Cammie, Hugo, and the Potters- all of them, even James' recent fiancée (except of course for Al). That Auror woman, Jessica Albarran, had insisted they wait outside the part of the castle the Aurors were using as their headquarters. It was taking forever; Rose was quivering at his side, about to break into tears yet again.

The Potter patriarch's mouth was a thin line, and there was something in his green eyes that made Scorpius guess he knew why it was taking so long, and he didn't like it.

Scorpius wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he also knew that Al would tell him anyway.

Then finally, finally, the doors opened and they swarmed forward, burying Al in a mass bear hug before he could even open his mouth to speak.

Although eventually he managed a muffled "Gerroff me!" and they broke apart.

"James, mate, why the hell would you bring Tanya to see me released from custody?" he demanded, a trace of his typical smirk reaching his face. "You know I've always had half a mind to steal her from you, and now you've gone and let her see me unwashed and scruffy."

"Aye, why else? I had to ruin your chances."

It was nice to know some things never changed, even when they were all just a few steps away from screaming under the stress of tragedy.

Further banter was exchanged between the Potter brood, Rose and Hugo chiming in occasionally, but eventually Ginny and Harry buried him in a hug before ruefully stepping away. "We'll see you in December, alright?" his mother sniffed slightly, leaning into her husband.

"Have a wonderful month and a half, and don't worry too much about me. I'm going to shower, hug Neville, and put this all behind me." he put on bravado, but they all knew it was going to take a heck of a lot more than that for all of them.

And then James and Tanya begged leave, though not before they swallowed the middle Potter in one last hug, promising to keep in touch until Christmas.

Lily and Hugo broke off from the group as they moved towards the Gryffindor common room, as not often did they truly hang out with their older relatives. So all that was left was Al, Rose, Cammie and Scorpius.

So Al took his chance to tell them everything Jessica had told him, after both the first murder and the second. Because that was what had taken so long- she was filling him in.

"So she wants you to solve her case for her?" Rose asked indignantly, scowling. "I don't doubt your father would have her fired for this if he knew, it could become downright dangerous! Al, you can't possibly-"

"Of course he can," Scorpius interrupted, setting an arm around her shoulders to soothe her before she flipped on him for disagreeing. "This is personal, Rose, think about it. First, they set Al up and give him the most miserable weekend of his life. Then, they kill one of his best friends from childhood. Whoever this is has a grudge against Al, and being his best friends we're all in danger whether we go after them or not. So we might as well, because more than likely we're going to be able to find things out faster than the Aurors. They're dragged down by protocols and shit- that's why they can't just up and use Veritaserum on every student in the school. After that whole Umbridge debacle while our parents were in school they passed a ton of laws protecting the students of Hogwarts from that kind of interrogation. They need reasonable cause first."

"We?" Al grinned, raising an eyebrow.

Cammie snorted, brushing a lock of curled blonde out of her face. "Well, duh, mate. We're not letting you do something as stupid as chasing down a killer on your own, are we? And obviously you knew that, since you were telling us all of this."

He laughed. "True, true. Well then, Rosie?" Al smirked. "That just leaves you."

She huffed out a breath and glanced up at Scorpius as if saying she blamed him. "I'm in."

GSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGS

Al went to his dorm to shower and change, and the girls decided to study in their common room, so Scorpius was left on his own for the afternoon. Classes had been canceled for the rest of the day, which even Rose hadn't complained about, and the students who were in the halls looked stunned and/or nervous.

He seemed to be just about the only one alone, and despite his confidence in his ability to defend himself against anyone, even a psychopath, he felt a twinge of unease every time he rounded a corner without knowing who was on the other side.

So he went where he always did when he felt uneasy or upset- the greenhouses. A rather harried looking Neville was emerging, carrying a suitcase, when he arrived.

"Ah, yes, Scorpius, I was hoping to run into you before I left," Neville couldn't quite manage a smile. "I'm going to go spend a little time with my wife, as I'm sure you can understand, and I'm afraid I'll have to ask that you not spend your spare time in the greenhouses. I know how you love to care for the plants, but I can't endorse your being out on your own with the castle in this state. And my substitute will probably want to keep track of things themselves, make sure no one's using anything nefariously. Terribly sorry, Scorpius."

The part that made his heartbreak about seeing Neville as saddened as he was? The man genuinely felt bad that he had to deny Scorpius use of the greenhouse. His daughter had been murdered, there were no suspects, and his wife was probably about to run her bar into the ground due to grief, but he still found a place to feel bad about being an inconvenience to one of his students.

"No, of course, sir, I completely understand," Scorpius managed somewhat weakly around the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. He wasn't one to cry (ever) but Neville Longbottom was such a good man, he didn't deserve this. "And, sir, I- I'm sorry, too."

Neville smiled sadly. "Yes, aren't we all? Tell Albus that we still intend to make it to their house for Christmas."

"Of course, sir. Shall I just walk with you back to the castle?"

"Well, I can't just leave you here now, can I?"

"No, I expect not, sir. Do you need any help with that suitcase?"

"You're too polite, Scorpius. Your mother did a wonderful job with you. Give her my regards."

"Anything you say, sir."

They walked side by side back towards the castle in companionable if melancholy silence. "And Scorpius?" Neville finally said, shaking his head. "Please stop calling me sir."

"Of course, Professor."

He sighed. "It's a step."

GSGSGSGSGSGSGSGS

Now what was he left with? He asked himself sourly after he and the Professor had split ways. His friends were locked up in a tower he couldn't enter and the greenhouses were taboo.

His only option was his own common room, and that wasn't entirely appealing. He had a friend or two there- okay, just A friend- but for the most part he just had enemies.

Apparently he had nicer enemies than Al, though, despite the fact that some of his had been ambushing him in back hallways since he was eleven. Such a foreign idea, that one seemed.

Everyone always seemed to love Al- he was a Potter, he threw great parties, he defended the younger students when need arose, and he was never above a healthy dose of mischief and sarcasm. Yet, apparently someone wanted to hurt him enough to kill.

And they were stretching it out- if they wanted to really hurt Al, shouldn't they have gone straight to his family and friends? He may have been childhood friends with Alice, but they'd rarely spoken in depth since third year.

He himself was probably closer friends these days; he hadn't guessed she was gay, sure, but it was significantly harder to tell with girls than with guys, and he didn't begrudge himself that one.

But just yesterday they'd studied together in the library (Rose had been in Muggle Studies, an elective he hadn't taken, and Alice's closest friends had been similarly engaged), and they'd spent a good hour catching up. It had been pleasant- she was selfless and sweet and clever with the occasional joke or pun.

The thought of it now made his stomach turn.

Unconsciously he'd ended up back at the Gryffindor common room, and he stared glumly at the portrait of the Fat Lady, wishing it would swing open and-

"Rose," he said, surprised.

She smiled upon seeing him, closing the distance to hug him tightly. "Merlin, Scor, could I possibly feel more overwhelmed?" she muttered into his chest.

He stroked her hair, holding her just as tightly as she held him. "I don't know, Rose. Why do you feel-"

"Must you ask, seriously? My favorite cousin is finally not a suspect, but one of the nicest girls in school and a dear friend of mine was murdered, and Al is pacing in circles around the common room, looking no better after his shower than before. He feels so responsible for all of this and it's eating him up inside. And on top of everything, life has to move on, so school is going to pick back up tomorrow and I'm in no state to focus or learn."

"You'll learn, Rose," he said confidently. "It's impossible for you not to; you take it in through osmosis. You should stop worrying for a second and relax. Things suck, but they are actually looking up a touch from yesterday. Al's not a suspect anymore, and we have him back. No matter how screwed up he's gotten, he's still Al, and we can rely on him for a good laugh. And Merlin knows we'll need some."

"How can you say things are looking up? Another person is dead! ALICE is dead. We all loved Alice..."

"Everybody loved Alice," he murmured. "She was... Alice. And we'll miss her like crazy, but the most we can do right now is breathe. In the morning we can start with the detective work- Karli and Leslie are just waiting to be asked some questions."

"You're right, for once," she muttered, finally looking up at him, but not releasing him from the hug. "And I mean, for once. You're pretty much always wrong."

"Oi," he said, hurt. "I've been winning a lot of arguments lately."

Rose shrugged. "I'm broken and grieving. It doesn't count."

"Rude," he muttered.

"Stop talking." she snuggled into his arms. "Just breathe. That was your sage advice, right?"

He rolled his eyes, but hugged her closer.

GSGSGSGSGSGSGS

Al was skimming the Prophets from the weekend, eating ravenously and spilling everywhere. Rose was wincing, as she always kept her papers and now they were covered in pumpkin juice, but she humored him. He had barely eaten the past few days, and this was Al. Eating was his favorite activity.

He looked up in surprise, pointing to an article a few pages into Sunday's paper. He said something unintelligible around the eggs in his mouth, looking at Scorpius.

"Swallow, then say that again," Scorpius advised drily, rolling his eyes. "I have no clue what you just said."

"Your dad's finally done it, he's beat the skeptics," Al blurted after choking on the huge bite, eyes watering.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius peered at the article.

"He's been fighting to be head of the department for years, hasn't he? Over the objections of all those folks who claim he can't possibly have changed so drastically?" Al spun the paper around, shrugging. "He was promoted two days ago."

"Weird," Scorpius muttered, picking up the paper. "I missed this. Would've thought my parents would've owled, though."

"Maybe your dad was trying to avoid making it look like a big deal; I mean, when the head of a Ministry department is replaced it's normally a headline, but this only made page six." Cammie peered over his shoulder.

"To the point where they wouldn't even tell me?" Scorpius snorted, handing the paper back to Al.

The bespectacled seventh year swallowed down another huge bite of egg, accepting the paper. "Mate, your dad tries to avoid your hearing anything about his past. He's fucking embarrassed by it, if you hadn't noticed. He probably wants it to just go away. He didn't even really want the promotion anyway, last you told me."

"True," Scorpius sighed. "Slow down, or you're going to kill yourself," he blurted, exasperatedly, as Al began spluttering, some of his pumpkin juice going down the wrong way.

"You're just jealous," Al muttered, red creeping up his neck.

"Jealous?" Scorpius snorted. "Of what? Your nice white shirt being stained from your idiotic antics?"

Al muttered something that sounded highly inappropriate, waving his wand at the orange stain blooming down his chest.

"Same to you," Scorpius said flatly, rolling his eyes.

"Boys!" Rose snapped. "Play nice."

"Yes, Rosie," Al sighed.

"Your wish is my command," Scorpius informed her.

Al suddenly froze, staring across the hall. "Action time, folks," he murmured, and they all followed his gaze to Karli Adams and Leslie Richards.

**A/N: Poor Neville! Guys, I hope you cried. You probably didn't, because it's not like it was so touchy feely a scene, but still. If you cried, you should tell me. IN A REVIEW.**

**Speaking of, no one reviewed last chapter, and then I went on vacation, so that's why I haven't updated in a few days. Also haven't been inspired to write by ya'll's lack luster reviewing attempts, so I only have a chapter and a half in reserve. I'm not writing till ya'll get reviewing, so...  
**


	10. Hand in Hand

Chapter Ten: Hand in Hand (Cammie)

**A/N: I noticed there was one member of my Golden Square who hadn't been featured yet D: Le gasp! So here it is- our favorite heel slingin' blondie, leading the charge against Leslie and Karli. (Did you see what I did up there with the Golden Square thing? Harry, Ron, Hermione, Golden Trio? But there are four of these guys? Clever, right?... okay, it's not. I'll shut up now.)**

She couldn't believe it had taken a murder before she'd really become a member of the group. Sure, she'd always been one of Rose's best friends, but it was more "You're the person I'm going to hang out with when I'm too fed up with Scorpius to want to spend my day with Al, who's really my best friend" than legitimate best friends. And Al had already had two best friends, besides the fact that she was too freaked to talk in front of him most days (this effect had faded over the years, but at that point he'd been too cemented in his ways to welcome a new best friend). And Scorpius... well, Scorpius was nice enough, but he wasn't really Cam's type of friend.

Cammie wasn't dumb, but she wasn't exactly on Scorpius's wave length, intellect-wise.

And so whenever Rose was suffering through Scorpius's company in order to hang out with her cousin, Cammie would end up with that large gaggle of giggling girls. It was a little irksome, though she generally liked some of the girls, and she resented it most of the time. But sometimes, the ties she'd made over the years came in handy.

Like when you wanted to question two of the girls you'd often giggled with.

"Hey, Karli, Leslie, mind if I pull you aside for a sec?" she smiled warmly, trying to put them at ease. They'd been so nervous lately- but having left behind her friend on the night she got murdered would have made Cammie jittery too.

"Sure, Cam," Leslie tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Karli looked at her, eyes narrowed, but followed her out of the Great Hall.

"You want to know about the night Tracy died," Karli said bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest as Cammie closed the door to the empty classroom behind them. "Well, look, we didn't go to the Aurors because we didn't see anything. We ran into Malfoy, the guys started arguing, Potter motioned for us to leave, and we left. Tracy couldn't leave because Boot was in between her and the hallway, and he's kind of, um, explosive. He wouldn't have taken it well."

"Okay..." Cammie bit her lip, running a hand through her hair. Al had asked her to handle this, since she knew them, but she didn't really know what questions to ask, what they needed answered. "Did you see anyone else, anyone at all?"

"No," Karli stated firmly, scowling.

"Yes, we did," Leslie said softly.

Karli shot her a look. "Shut it," she growled.

"Kar, we didn't talk to the Aurors because you said we shouldn't, but somebody has to know! It could help someone find the girl who killed her!"

Karli stood up furiously. "Leslie, we-"

Ignoring her friend, Leslie started talking over her. "Cammie, we didn't _see_ someone, exactly, but we doubled back, hoping Tracy had gotten free, and we heard part of a conversation. Al said something, and it sort of sounded like "Get out of here" and then a girl responded- we sort of assumed it was Tracy, but it didn't really sound like her. And then all the other noise died off, and there was a scream. And- I, well, I'm not proud of this, but I grabbed Karli's arm and I dragged her off." She looked at Cam sadly. "We were right there, we could have caught her, but I got scared. And now Alice is dead too."

Cammie shook her head slowly. "You don't know what would have happened if you'd confronted her."

Leslie sighed. "Don't bother, Cam. I know that a braver person would have anyway."

"Yeah, well brave and stupid often go hand in hand."

BOSBOSBOSBOSBOSBOSBOS

She rejoined her friends, a satisfied look on her face. "That went well." she stole a roll off of Al's plate, not having eaten breakfast yet herself.

Rose, Scorpius, and Al all stared at her, frozen in expectation, but she simply buttered her roll, smirking ever so slightly.

"Well?" Al finally demanded, setting down his silverware.

""Our suspect pool was just cut in half. We know she's female. And even better, we know you saw her face. You said you were sort of remembering things? Even if we can't figure it out, eventually you're going to know." she grinned.

"And Al appears to be full. Our mission in breakfast has finally been completed." Scorpius grinned.

Al held up a hand. "Not full, mate, simply satisfied. You of all people should know I can never get full- don't you remember our trip to Spain last summer?"

Scorpius winced. "Don't remind me about that trip. Don't remind me about anything that happened that week."

"Do tell," Cammie grinned, eyes sparkling.

"Never," Al shook his head. "We took an oath."

"With a priest present," Scorpius nodded sagely.

"It's as binding as an Unbreakable Vow."

"More, almost."

"Not to mention that pretty much everything that I did on that trip falls under the category of stories called 'Embarrassing if Recounted in Public.'" Al shivered. "Never ask again, Cam."

"Because that doesn't make me want to know," she rolled her eyes.

Rose grimaced. "I know the feeling. Imagine spending the remaining the last three weeks of summer with Al throwing just enough allusion in your face to drive you crazy, and then refusing to answer when you finally break down and ask."

"He's an arse," Cammie stated, and Rose nodded her agreement.

Al threw his hands up, staring at Scorpius. "Have they suddenly forgotten I'm sitting right here?"

"Well, mate, we got rather used to making fun of you while you weren't here," Scorpius smirked, rising along with the girls as the bell to end breakfast rang.

"Oi!" Al yelled after them, scowling. "I was locked in a tower, trying to convince the Aurors that I didn't murder someone, and you were out here making jokes at my expense?"

Cammie threw a look over her shoulder, smirking. "Yes."

Al straightened, looking affronted. "Well, how rude."

BOSBOSBOSBOSBOSBOSBOS

Things were supposed to go crazy when somebody died, right? Especially when someone got murdered? They weren't supposed to celebrate. But, celebrating was what Gryffindors did best. So they celebrated... what was it Megan had said? "Being alive, being awesome, and being appreciative of the above combination."

Well, she should specify. The Gryffindor _women_ celebrated. Loudly, and in excellent fashion. And, of course, the guys couldn't join in, as they held it in a dorm room magically expanded by the three smartest cookies.

It was actually really fun.

She felt kind of guilty to be having fun, but she couldn't help it- Gryffindors knew how to throw a party.

"Truth or Dare!" One sixth year girl shrieked, jumping up on top of one of the beds so she could be seen above the feathers flying from the pillow fight currently being waged across the entire floor.

Cammie perked up, looking over at Aideen (the sixth year who had jumped on the bed) and getting knocked in the head by Rose. "Stop it, midget!" she hit the redhead back. "Aideen, I think that's a great idea!" she shouted, waving a hand to get her attention.

Other girls echoed her sentiments, and they broke off into the corner, letting those who didn't want to play continue the pillow fight.

"Ground rules?" one girl asked, straightening her tank top as they settled in a circle.

Cammie snickered. "You've obviously never played Truth or Dare at a Gryffindor party. Honey, there _are_ no ground rules."

"That's the only ground rule," Rose winked, laughing.

"No, there's another." Aideen smirked, looking around the circle. "What happens in the dorm, stays in the dorm."

"Unless, of course, it involves leaving the dorm. Then it's fair game," a blonde fifth year added.

"Also, whoever gets dared picks who gets asked next."

"And, if you pick truth, you have to answer the question. And then do a dare anyway."

Cammie beamed at the confused looking fourth year who'd started the whole discussion. "So, basically, there are a lot of ground rules. If we missed one, we'll clue you in when it pops up. So, who's gonna start this shindig?"

"Me, duh," Aideen rolled her eyes. "I called the circle to session, I get to start."

"Ah, yes. There's another one."

"Alright..." Aideen looked around the circle, tapping her chin thoughtfully as she leaned back on her other hand. "Cassidy, truth or dare?"

"Dare, obviously," the black haired Irish girl grinned, standing. "Give it to me."

"Go into the bathroom and put your underwear on over your clothes."

"Easy," she scoffed, prancing off to return a few minutes later, wearing her lacy dark blue panties over her fleece pants. "We all changed into our pajamas, so I decided to fore go a bra for the evening," she laughed, sitting back down.

"Now pick who's next," Aideen prompted.

"Laila," she said immediately. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare, all the way."

"Do the same thing I just did, but then go downstairs and get a guy to take a picture of you two together. Unless you're chicken." she smirked.

"I'm a Gryffindor, friend, so by definition I am not a chicken." a few minutes later, Laila came skipping back up the stairs. "Lyall has to get it developed, he promised to give it to me by tomorrow afternoon. Now, Rose, truth or dare?"

"I'll be adventurous. Truth." Rose stood, smirking. No way was she going to be upstaged by the other girls there.

"Alright, then. Ladies, what do we want to know about Miss Weasley here?" Laila was sizing her up, smirking herself.

Cam shrugged as everyone looked expectantly at her. "I already know everything about Rose, so I don't really care what you ask her."

"Ooh!" Lexie sat up. "Laila, ask her if she's ever considered dating a girl."

Laila rolled her eyes. "You just want to know if you're going to have a chance if she and Scorpius break up."

"So? Ask her anyway."

"Fine. Rose Weasley, have you ever considered dating a girl?"

Rose grinned. "Once, but then she spent the summer at my house, in the room next to mine, and I realized she snores loud enough to wake the dead. I could not live with that for the rest of my life."

Cam winked at the eyes that suddenly flashed to her. "I'm just so sexy she couldn't resist."

Laughter ran around the circle. Rose laughed herself, rolling her eyes. "Did I mention I'd pretty much already decided she was too annoying? So, okay, Laila, what's my dare?"

"Hmmm..." Laila reached her decision. "Transfigure the pillow of any one of those girls into a snake- nothing poisonous, we don't want any accidents. But make them scream."

"Done," she grinned, and went stalking off along the edges of the mob, searching for her victim.

In moments, the girls were scrambling away from Mona (famously afraid of anything scaly), who was screaming at the top of her lungs, some chasing the snake and trying to stomp on it or catch it.

Rose returned victorious, to the applause of the circle.

"Alright, Cam, your turn. Truth or dare?"

"Dare, and make it fun."

She didn't even have to think. "Dye your hair red, then go find and snog Al."

**A/N: Playing matchmaker, Rosie? This has the potential to get good. Review ;)**

**And everybody, thank jinglebattjamxx for reviewing chapter 9 and inspiring me to update!  
**


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